Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham each played key roles in the Giants' road to the Lombardi Trophy last season. Now they're using their intimate knowledge of what the Giants do to help their new team.

"They've helped a lot. Brandon came in early on Monday and said that he was having a meeting with the coaching staff going over some of the things that he remembered -- you know, what is Eli (Manning) thinking on certain formations -- where the runs gonna go -- he went over some of the blocking schemes and protections, too.

"Mario has helped -- especially with knowledge about (Victor) Cruz -- you know, what the backside is gonna do, the looks he sees, where the ball's gonna go -- like we know it's going to Hakeem (Nicks) if we see single high. So it's been good."

It's debatable how much this information actually helps the Niners, though we don't imagine it hurts. Either way, this is unquestionably the game of the week.